Translator and Editor: Effe and Nabi

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Chapter 16 – Mahaken Da Pepeldomoon (1)

Xeon’s innocent eyes widened and then narrowed.

It was quite a shocking face.

“Sir Howard, I’m talking about our symbiosis now. I will keep my mouth shut, and Sir, report my daily life ‘moderately’ from now.”

“‘Moderately’ is…?”

“I don’t intend to do things that my brother worries about. I just hope that people around me won’t get hurt because of a misunderstanding. That’s all I want.”

Xeon also agreed.

He couldn’t deny that Pierre’s obsession and suspicion towards Princess Sienna were too much.

“As you know, Brother Pierre is a short fuse who is suspicious of everything, right?”

“Pft!”

Anna and Arthur spewed the tea, while Xeon unconsciously nodded his head, but then quickly bowed his body.

“I, I’m sorry!”

“Ah. It’s all right, this is between us.”

When he’s not around, they even curse at him, even though he’s the Prince.

Though it was necessary to emphasize to Xeon that this was not a betrayal towards Pierre. At the same time, it would have been dishonorable as a knight to dig into a Lady’s private life, so she added some fuel to it.

“If you think you’re doing something really disloyal, please let me know. However, if you’re a really loyal servant, there’s no need to upset Pierre by reporting every little thing.”

This is, by no means, betrayal.

“Ah! You can go with Arthur, in any case, without having to watch closely from afar. I don’t care.”

Sienna clapped her hands and smiled brightly.

As he heard her words, Xeon’s cheeks burned with shame, confusion, and subtle fear. His bright green eyes were wandering around, not paying attention.

‘Who am I… and, where am I? W-why am I in the middle of the lake now? What’s this situation?’

Still, like a knight, he made a final rebellion.

“What happens if I refuse, even if Your Highness is telling the truth?”

She paused for a moment to answer and gazed at the vast lake.

‘It looked very deep…’

She looked at the endless ground and asked indifferently.

“Sir Howard, are you good at swimming?”

“…Pardon?” He asked reflexively, and after a few seconds made a strange sound.

“Hiikkk!”

Xeon sat back and stepped back., but that too was soon blocked by Arthur.

Judging by the reaction, it seemed that he could not swim.

“Are, are you threatening me now?”

“Me? Maybe.”

“Then, good luck Princess—Heuk!”

Xeon stiffened in surprise.

It was because of Sienna’s sudden approach. She stared into his eyes and whispered softly that only he could hear.

“Of course. I’m quite good at it. Even if Sir pushes me out of here, I can swim all the way to the pier.”

“Such a thing…!”

“I know. Of course not.”

“Princess!”

His reaction was pretty cute, so it was worth making fun of, but Sienna thought he would cry if she did anymore more. So, finally, she decided to stop here for today.

“Go back and think about it slowly.”

Sienna reached out her hand to Xeon.

“I’m sure we could be good friends.”

***

“Then, see you tomorrow!”

Sienna said that to Xeon and waved her hand brightly.

Already lost in his mind, he followed her and waved his hand before disappearing.

On the way back, they got off the pier on the other side and walked through the forest, and the sunlight scattered through the leaves, creating a mysterious atmosphere.

However, even in the fantastic scenery, Arthur had a dissatisfied face.

“I really don’t know what the Princess is thinking.”

“As Arthur knows, Pierre’s eyes and ears are everywhere outside the narrow Princess Palace.”

“….”

“At least in my space, I just want to be free from those people.”

Saying so, Sienna clapped her hands in an effort to bring out the slightly heavier atmosphere.

“Besides, I like Sir Howard.”

“That poor guy?”

“That’s the point. He’s harmless no matter how you look at it.”

Is it supposed to be like a soft herbivore? Like a deer, like a giraffe.

‘Anyway, he was kinda cute.’

“And, I thought, if the watcher is on our side, isn’t that one more escort?”

One stone, two birds. Eat the pheasant, eat the eggs, dip your find in the water, catch a crayfish, sweep the yard, collect money.

“Am I not good enough?”

But, when she heard Arthur’s reply, Sienna stopped her steps at the sulky voice.

“Are you jealous right now?”

“I am concerned. After all, he’s the Crown Prince’s person.”

“Well, if he betrays me, I’ll throw him into that lake.”

“…Are you serious?”

“Of course.”

The way she smiled was somehow cruel.

“Still, will he really do what the Princess wants?”

“Well… it’s good if it works, or if it doesn’t, there will be another chance.”

“You are really laid back.”

“Yeah.” She said, smiling and patting Arthur’s shoulder lightly.

“I have two lives.”

“….”

At the sudden remark, he crept into a defensive posture.

“Are you scared?”

“Maybe…”

Next to her, Anna was holding back her laughter.

Red up to his neck, Arthur slowly lowered his arms.

“Ah! Arthur, I have a question for you.”

“What is?”

“What did you do in the grass earlier? Sir Howard must have been terrified.”

“Ah, that…”

“Yeah, yeah! That…?”

Extending his sentence, Arthur looked at Sienna as her eyes lit up and bit his mouth tightly. “Hmm. It’s a trade secret.”

He had a long grudge.

***

Sienna, who had gone to bed early in the aftermath of staying up all night and exhausted magic, woke up at midday the next day.

How many hours did she sleep?

“Shushu. Aren’t you too inefficient?”

— The Master is weak. I mean, didn’t I keep telling you? You need to practice. I can’t do this. From today…

“Yes, yes. It’s my fault today, too.”

Siena interrupted Shushu.

It was because once it started, there was no end. Even though Shushu only talks about mean things, when she sees it, she can’t be mad.

“Because you’re cute.”

She seemed to have misplaced the body.

That fluffy baby bunny is so cute!

‘How can anyone get angry over that face?’

Shushu has been talking nonstop since the moment Sienna woke up.

— Master! What is that? It’s just my style.— Master! What else is that?— Master…

Thanks to its curious and talkative spirit, her mornings were noisier than ever.

And because of this, Sienna, who was always procrastinating in bed, woke up quickly, washed her face, and finished eating, before sitting down at the table.

Anna brought the ingredients she requested in advance.

“Princess, what are you going to make with this?”

“A talisman to filter out nightmares.”

“A talisman? Do you have nightmares?”

“Other than me. There is someone who I want to get a good night’s sleep without even dreaming…”

Saying that, Sienna’s face turned red and Anna could guess without difficulty.

‘Somehow, these days, it seems that the Princess was talking to herself…’

It seemed to be going well.

‘What kind of house does he belong to? Is he still from Valencia?’

Anna had already asked her, but Sienna only smiled shyly, saying it was a secret. She poked Arthur on the side and quietly left her room.

Meanwhile, Sienna was concentrating without even noticing that Anna was leaving.

“Did you wind it like this?”

As she rekindled her memories of making it before, she slowly wound the thread around the ring. What she wanted was a wagon wheel shape, but it didn’t work out as well as she thought it would.

— What are you making now?

“A dream catcher, a piece of jewelry that filters out bad dreams.”

— Hmm. But, Master, you are not very dexterous.

“…Is it that bad?”

— Yes.

Shushu was relentless.

“Shushu. You should be quiet for a while.”

And so, Sienna laid Shushu on the bed and covered it with a blanket. “Isn’t that nice? Just sleep quietly for an hour like this.”

— Shushu is not sleepy.

Nonetheless, she ignored it and concentrated on the task in front of her again. After wrestling with the thread for a long time, she was finally able to finish it when her neck became stiff.

“Ah! I almost forgot.”

She took out the topaz she had seen from her jewelry box.

— Ohh. This is topaz.

“Do you know jewels?”

— Shushu likes it, too. Though why topaz?

“It protects its Master from evil spirits. There was such a legend.”

— Do you believe that? The Master is also very naive.

“Believe it. There is a saying that what you believe will happen.”

Sienna puts the topaz on the finished dream catcher. “Finally, it’s complete!”

— Where are you going now?

“Library.”

— That’s kind of interesting.

“Hm? You’re not going, though.”

— What? How could that be…

Hurriedly, Shushu jumped off the bed and clung to her ankle.

— Shushu wants to go, too!

This evil spirit must have already grasped her own taste. So, even if she closed her eyes tightly and tried to pull it off, it endured until the end, and soon began to mourn.

— Shushu didn’t sign a contract with the Master to stay locked up in this bedroom! It’s a pity that I can’t move freely, but just to protect your room!

“I never say that?”

— Spirits have a duty to protect their contractors. We’re not together, how do I protect you?

“Then, you…”

Shushu shouted an answer before Siena finished speaking.

— I’ll be quiet.

It seemed to know well that it was noisy…

Shsuhu fit snugly in her backpack.

Arthur asked with his eyes why she was carrying it, but Sienna tried to pretend she didn’t understand.

He then soon realized she was on the way to the library, holding the gift box tightly.

“Is he there?”

She hadn’t specifically promised to meet today.

The relationship between the two of them was just that. They knew very little about each other, and the only place they met was the library—A relationship that would be cut off at any time if even one of them stopped going…

And, there were no magical coincidences.

“…No.”

She went out to the backyard just in case, but he wasn’t there either.

“Sigh…”

There is no end to human greed.

In the beginning, there were times when she was happy just seeing his face and saying hello. However, now, an inexplicable thirst rose from the ambiguous relationship.

…She kept wanting to cross the line.

Sienna returned to the library and she sat down where Dandelion usually sat.

— Master…

“Shushu, will you leave me alone?”

— But…!

“I’m sorry, but I want to be alone. Please don’t talk to me for a moment.”

Sienna sat Shushu in the seat next to her and leaned on the desk.

Even though she figured he might not be here, it seemed like she was still expecting it unknowingly. As if fate, they’re just going to meet like that.

“Haa…”

A library without anyone was the perfect place to be lost in thought.

Anxieties that had been postponed until tomorrow began to quarrel in front of her. Sienna had no idea how much time had passed.

‘I’m going now… No, ten more minutes,’ She was screaming internally.

At the sound of approaching footsteps, Sienna slowly raised her head.

“Uh…”

He looked a little disorganized as usual.

A button on his shirt was unbuttoned, and his hair was less dry. It seemed as if he had run in a hurry.

Surprised, Sienna went to find Shushu.

— Shushu! You scared me. Why didn’t you tell me!

— Huh? Master told me not to talk?

This guy’s mouth is always the problem.

— …I’ll be more careful in the future.

— That’s a good attitude.

She forgot Dandelion in front of her for a moment as she was talking with Shushu. Sienna only realized that fact when she woke up to the voice calling for her.

“Sienna?”

Approaching closer, Dandelion gently stroked her hair as though he was concerned.

“What are you thinking?”

“…Dan.”

Her lips drew a soft arc.

“I was thinking of you…”

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